The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery
The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery | |
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Lobby card | |
Directed by | Charles Guggenheim John Stix |
Written by | Richard T. Heffron |
Produced by | Charles Guggenheim |
Starring | Steve McQueen David Clarke Crahan Denton |
Cinematography | Victor Duncan |
Edited by | Warren Adams |
Music by | Bernardo Segall |
Production company | Charles Guggenheim & Associates |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (also called The St. Louis Bank Robbery, the film title in the opening credits) is a 1959 heist film, directed by Charles Guggenheim and starring Steve McQueen as a college dropout hired to be the getaway driver in a bank robbery.
Based on a 1953 bank robbery attempt of Southwest Bank in St. Louis, the film was shot on location in 1958. It featured some of the men and women from the St. Louis Police Department, as well as local residents and bank employees, re-enacting their roles during the actual robbery attempt.[1] Steve McQueen was an unknown actor when filming began. Later in 1958 he had a breakout role as Josh Randall in the TV series Wanted Dead or Alive and gained national recognition.
Plot[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Steve_McQueen_-_The_Great_St._Louis_Bank_Robbery_%281959%29_-_2.jpg/243px-Steve_McQueen_-_The_Great_St._Louis_Bank_Robbery_%281959%29_-_2.jpg)
George Fowler (Steve McQueen), a former collegiate football star, is recruited for a bank robbery gang by Gino (David Clarke), the brother of George's estranged flame, Ann (Molly McCarthy). Gino is an ex-convict, cold and unstable. Although agreeing only to be the get-away driver, George is coerced deeper into the plot by the gang leader John Egan (Crahan Denton). Gino pressures George to reconnect with his sister Ann, in order to get a subsistence stake to tide the gang over until the robbery. The gang members seethe with mutual dislike and distrust.
Seeing Gino leaving the gang's bank surveillance, Ann presses George and deduces that they plan a bank robbery. She attempts to derail the plot by scribbling a warning to George on the bank's window. But this is seen by the 4th gang member, Willy (a minion of John's from prison). John and Willy burst into George's and Gino's lodgings to track down the betrayal. Gino reveals his sister Ann's identity and past relationship with George. The gang force George to take them to Ann's apartment, where he is sent away. Gino also abandons Ann on John's orders. John hurls Ann to her death from the fire escape, playing out revenge for his abusive mother. Told that Willy will be the driver, George is forced to a role inside the bank.
The next day, the robbers begin their heist. They neglected to bring a police-frequency scanner and are unaware that the bank had relocated a switchboard from the lobby, elements that foil key aspects of their plan. An employee triggers the silent alarm, and police swarm the bank exterior. John is shot while attempting escape behind a female hostage. Gino commits suicide in the basement vault. After briefly considering a battle with police, Willy flees, but is pursued.
George initiates a panicky escape behind another female hostage, but stops when her husband offers himself in her stead. Having learned that Ann was killed, George tries to surrender his pistol to a bank customer, who pushes it back to the sobbing, broken George. He is dragged into a paddy wagon, and sees the world receding behind metal bars.
Cast[]
- Steve McQueen as George Fowler
- Crahan Denton as John Egan, the gang boss
- David Clarke as Gino, Ann's brother
- James Dukas as Willy, the driver
- Molly McCarthy as Ann, George's ex-girlfriend and Gino's sister
- Martha Gable as Eddie's wife
- Larry Gerst as Eddie
Reception[]
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See also[]
- Fred William Bowerman, the actual leader of the robbery gang (and figure for character John Egan)
References[]
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery. |
- The St. Louis Bank Robbery at IMDb
- The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery is available for free download at the Internet Archive
- The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery, Full Movie on YouTube
- 1959 films
- English-language films
- 1959 crime drama films
- 1950s heist films
- American films
- American black-and-white films
- American crime drama films
- American heist films
- Crime films based on actual events
- Films about bank robbery
- Films directed by Charles Guggenheim
- Films scored by Bernardo Segall
- Films set in Missouri
- Films set in St. Louis
- Films shot in Missouri
- United Artists films
- Films shot in St. Louis